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Measurement of lower limb volume in patients with chronic venous disease (CVD) is necessary for assessing severity at the time of diagnosis and evaluating response to therapy administered. Existing methods have some limitations in clinical application and accuracy. The study aimed to investigate the reliability and validity of a three-dimensional laser scanner (3DLS) in measuring the lower limb volume of patients with CVD.A total of 30 patients with CVD (mean age, 55.6 ± 8.07 years; mean body mass index, 24.61 ± 1.87) were recruited in a vascular surgery clinic. The lower limb volumes of all participants were measured using the 3DLS and circumferential method (CM). Statistical analysis was conducted to compare the 3DLS and CM.There was a strong correlation between the CM and 3DLS method (rThere was satisfactory agreement between the two investigated methods. The 3DLS method was confirmed to be accurate, repeatable, and rapid in measuring the lower limb volume in patients with CVD and is, therefore, suitable for clinical use.

Worldwide, the proportion of the population aged 65 years or older is rapidly increasing, along with the prevalence of dyslipidemia and cardiovascular disease. Because of decreased physiological functions and comorbidities in the elderly, it is difficult to determine a treatment strategy for each individual. According to the guidelines for dyslipidemia in Europe and the United States, aggressive low-density lipoprotein cholesterol lowering is recommended for secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease as in the younger patient group. Also, newer cholesterol-lowering agents, ezetimibe and PCSK9 inhibitor can be added to achieve treatment goals in high risk groups. However, considering the conflicting study results in primary prevention, it is necessary to fully consider life expectancy and side effects of medications to determine whether to initiate treatment. Several on-going studies are expected to give answers to many complex clinical situations of dyslipidemia treatment in the elderly.

Anion chemical dynamics of autodetachment and fragmentation mediated by the dipole-bound state (DBS) have been thoroughly investigated in a state-specific way by employing the picosecond time-resolved or the nanosecond frequency-resolved spectroscopy combined with the cryogenically cooled ion trap and velocity-map imaging techniques. For the

Rotating object detection has wide applications in aerial photographs, remote sensing images, UAVs, etc. At present, most of the rotating object detection datasets focus on the field of remote sensing, and these images are usually shot in high-altitude scenes. However, image datasets captured at low-altitude areas also should be concerned, such as drone-based datasets. So we present a low-altitude dronebased dataset, named UAV-ROD, aiming to promote the research and development in rotating object detection and UAV applications. The UAV-ROD consists of 1577 images and 30,090 instances of car category annotated by oriented bounding boxes. In particular, The UAV-ROD can be utilized for the rotating object detection, vehicle orientation recognition and object counting tasks. Compared with horizontal object detection, the regression stage of the rotation detection is a tricky problem. In this paper, we propose a rotating object detector TS4Net, which contains anchor refinement module (ARM) and two-stage sample selective strategy (TS4). The ARM can convert preseted horizontal anchors into high-quality rotated anchors through twostage anchor refinement. The TS4 module utilizes different constrained sample selective strategies to allocate positive and negative samples, which is adaptive to the regression task in different stages. Benefiting from the ARM and TS4, the TS4Net can achieve superior performance for rotating object detection solely with one preseted horizontal anchor. Extensive experimental results on UAV-ROD dataset and three remote sensing datasets DOTA, HRSC2016 and UCAS-AOD demonstrate that our method achieves competitive performance against most state-of-the-art methods., 12 pages, 11 figures

As artificial intelligence spreads out to numerous fields, the application of AI to sports analytics is also in the spotlight. However, one of the major challenges is the difficulty of automated acquisition of continuous movement data during sports matches. In particular, it is a conundrum to reliably track a tiny ball on a wide soccer pitch with obstacles such as occlusion and imitations. Tackling the problem, this paper proposes an inference framework of ball trajectory from player trajectories as a cost-efficient alternative to ball tracking. We combine Set Transformers to get permutation-invariant and equivariant representations of the multi-agent contexts with a hierarchical architecture that intermediately predicts the player ball possession to support the final trajectory inference. Also, we introduce the reality loss term and postprocessing to secure the estimated trajectories to be physically realistic. The experimental results show that our model provides natural and accurate trajectories as well as admissible player ball possession at the same time. Lastly, we suggest several practical applications of our framework including missing trajectory imputation, semi-automated pass annotation, automated zoom-in for match broadcasting, and calculating possession-wise running performance metrics.

Electricity generation from renewable energy sources is emerging as a result of global carbon emission reduction policies. However, most renewable energy sources are non-dispatchable and cannot be adjusted to meet the fluctuating electricity demands of society. A flexible operation process has been proposed as an effective solution to compensate for the unstable nature of renewable energy sources. Thermal load fluctuations during flexible operation may cause creep–fatigue damage to the high-temperature components of thermal power plants, as they are designed with a focus on creep damage under a constant power level. This study investigated the residual life of high-temperature components, such as a superheater tube and a reheater header, to failure under flexible operation conditions using finite element analysis and empirical models. First, we determined an analytical solution for the straightened superheater tube under thermal conditions and compared it with the numerical solution to verify the numerical models. Through the verified finite element model, the creep–fatigue life of the reheater header was estimated by considering flexible operation factors and employing the Coffin–Manson and Larson–Miller models. Although fatigue damage increases with decreasing minimum load and ramp rate, we confirmed that creep damage significantly affects the residual life during flexible operation. In addition, a surrogate model was proposed to evaluate the residual life of the reheater as a function of the flexible operation factors using the machine learning methodology, based on the results of finite element methods. It can be used to predict its residual life without performing complex thermo-structural analysis and relying on empirical models for fatigue and creep life. We expect our findings to contribute to the efficient operation of thermal power plants by optimizing the flexible operation factors.

Recent Multimodal Large Language Models (MLLMs) are remarkable in vision-language tasks, such as image captioning and question answering, but lack the essential perception ability, i.e., object detection. In this work, we address this limitation by introducing a novel research problem of contextual object detection -- understanding visible objects within different human-AI interactive contexts. Three representative scenarios are investigated, including the language cloze test, visual captioning, and question answering. Moreover, we present ContextDET, a unified multimodal model that is capable of end-to-end differentiable modeling of visual-language contexts, so as to locate, identify, and associate visual objects with language inputs for human-AI interaction. Our ContextDET involves three key submodels: (i) a visual encoder for extracting visual representations, (ii) a pre-trained LLM for multimodal context decoding, and (iii) a visual decoder for predicting bounding boxes given contextual object words. The new generate-then-detect framework enables us to detect object words within human vocabulary. Extensive experiments show the advantages of ContextDET on our proposed CODE benchmark, open-vocabulary detection, and referring image segmentation. Github: https://github.com/yuhangzang/ContextDET., Github: https://github.com/yuhangzang/ContextDET, Project Page: https://www.mmlab-ntu.com/project/contextdet/index.html

Zingiber zerumbet and Zingiber corallinum are economically valuable species in the genus Zingiber. While Z. corallinum is sexually active, Z. zerumbet adopts clonal propagation, although it has the potential for sexual reproduction. It is unclear so far at which step during the sexual reproduction of Z. zerumbet inhibition occurs, and what are the regulatory mechanisms underlying this inhibition. Here, by comparing with the fertile species Z. corallinum using microscopy-based methods, we show that rare differences were observed in Z. zerumbet up to the point when the pollen tubes invaded the ovules. However, a significantly higher percentage of ovules still contained intact pollen tubes 24 h after pollination, suggesting pollen tube rupture was impaired in this species. Further RNA-seq analysis generated accordant results, showing that the transcription of ANX and FER, as well as genes for the partners in the same complexes (e.g., BUPS and LRE, respectively), and those putative peptide signals (e.g., RALF34), were timely activated in Z. corallinum, which ensured the pollen tubes being able to grow, reorient to ovules, and receipt by embryo sacs. In Z. zerumbet, genes for these complexes were cooperatively suppressed, which would result in the maintenance of PT integrity due to the disruption of RALF34-ANX/BUPS signaling in PT and the failure of PT reception by an active synergid due to the insufficiency of the synergid-harbored FER/LRE complex. Taking the results from the cytological and RNA-seq studies together, a model is proposed to illustrate the possible regulation mechanisms in Z. zerumbet and Z. corallinum, in which the regulations for pollen tube rupture and reception are proposed as the barrier for sexual reproduction in Z. zerumbet.

Patients suffering from acute lung injury (ALI) are at a high risk of developing cardiac arrhythmias. Our recent study demonstrated that bleomycin (Bleo)-induced ALI in rats exhibited significantly more spontaneous premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) from one to three weeks post induction. Although spontaneous PVCs disappeared at 4 weeks post ALI, PVCs were evoked again by electrical stimulation of the decentralized stellate ganglia in Bleo-exposed rats but not in normal rats. In the current study, we aimed to utilize non-biased RNA-Seq analysis to identify potential gene candidates in cardiac tissues, which may be associated with cardiac arrhythmia during the recovery from ALI. We created an ALI rat model using a single tracheal instillation of bleomycin (2.5 mg/kg), with saline as a vehicle (Veh) control. Blood troponin level was measured between Veh- and Bleo-treated rats at Week 1 (W1) post Veh/Bleo. Cardiac tissues were harvested at W4 post Veh/Bleo for RNA-seq analysis and following PCR validation. At W1 post ALI, cardiac troponin level was significantly increased in Bleo-treated rats whereas it was undetectable in Veh-treated (Control) rats. RNA-seq analysis indicated 11 downregulated (AABR07045427, Habp2, AC130862, Per2, Coch, Phactr3, Angptl7, LOC103690108, Mthfd2, Sorcs1, U6) and 13 upregulated (Calhm5, Metazoa_SRP, Tgm1, Pcare, Drd4, Selplg, AABR07027722; Rn5-8s, 5_8S_rRNA) genes in cardiac tissues at 4 weeks post ALI vs Veh. PCR validated that the gene expressions of Habp2, Coch, Phactr3, LOC103690108, Mthfd2 were significantly downregulated and the gene expressions of Pcare, Drd4 were significantly upregulated in the hearts of Bleo-treated rats at W4 post ALI. Our study demonstrated that multiple gene changes in cardiac tissues are associated with cardiac injury and arrhythmogenesis in bleomycin-induced ALI in male rats. Future studies will further determine the cause-effect relationship between these altered genes and cardiac arrhythmia post ALI. This study was supported by NIH grant R01 HL-152160 and in part, by NIH grants R01 HL126796. This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2023 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.

To promote the reversible cycleability of Li metal negative electrodes, a Li-chelating azamacrocyclic ligand molecule is introduced into a carbonate-based electrolyte intended for lithium metal batteries. Reversible Li plating and stripping on the Cu electrode are found to be the outcomes of the bifunctional effects of adding the lithium nitrate-chelating azamacrocyclic ligand. The negatively shifted redox potential of the Li-chelating macrocyclic ligand, relative to that of the free Li-ion, acted as a cationic shielding molecule for smooth Li deposition, and the Li

Background: Serum vitamin D levels affect atherosclerosis development via diverse molecular mechanisms. The lesion characteristics of carotid stenosis affect the success of stent expansion. By comparing the pre-and post-stenting stenosis degrees, our study evaluated whether serum vitamin D levels are associated with the expansion rate of carotid stenting.Methods: Forty-six cases who underwent elective cervical carotid artery stenting were analyzed. Patients were classified into two groups according to serum total 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25[OH]D) levels

The human fingertip consists of a fingerprint with many micro-grating structures. The main roles of the fingerprint could be divided into two purposes, namely, the enhancement of the frictional force and the effective transmittance of the biosignal. In this study, we present the fingerprint-inspired end-effector that has not only admirable frictional force but also electric conductivity. The end-effector is composed of fluorocarbon rubber, one of the famous materials to achieve high frictional force and robustness. Through various experiments, the novel performance of micro structured fluorocarbon rubber end-effector (MSFE) is characterized by comparing with a macroscale patterned sample (MPS), which has been already used in real industrial fields. Experimental results are analyzed theoretically. Furthermore, as feasible applications, we suggest two applications based on the role of the fingerprint. One is the conductive astronaut glove with high frictional force, and the other one is a non-slip pad for the next-generation glass transfer systems. Through these experiments, we successfully observe the enhanced system performance and confirm the possibility of using the MSFE as feasible applications. We believe that the MSFE could be a useful and powerful alternative as an end-effector, not only in the aerospace industry but also in display manufacturing processes.

Background/Aims Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is the most common vasculitis in adults aged over 50 years old with the highest incidence among persons aged 70-79. It is more commonly seen in female patients. Most cases have been reported in whites of Northern European descent. A broad range of symptoms can be reported including headache, jaw or tongue claudication, visual disturbances, PMR and other systemic features including weight loss, fever and sweats. In recent years new evidence has emerged regarding the investigation and treatment of GCA. This audit is to review the demographics, symptoms and investigations of patients who presented to the Rheumatology Department in SEHSCT with features concerning for possible GCA. Methods Retrospective collection of data from January 2020 to July 2021 using the regional Electronic Care Record NI with reference to presentations, investigation results, clinic records and follow-up letters. Results 70 patients were included (24 males and 46 females). Mean age was 72 years old. Table 1 shows the percentages of clinical symptoms reported. All patients investigated had an ESR (mean 57.8) and CRP (mean 54.1) checked. 43 patients had ANCA checked with 3 positive results. 40 patients underwent CT brain with 2 abnormalities reported unrelated to GCA. TA ultrasound was performed on one occasion with a positive result demonstrating “halo” sign recorded. 6 patients underwent CTPET with 3 diagnoses of LVV and 1 of PMR. 70 TAB performed with 12 positive results and 4 ‘suggestive’ of GCA. Conclusion Our cohort of patients demonstrated demographics similar to the current global geographic trends in GCA. There are a broad range of clinical symptoms that can present in GCA, none of which are entirely specific or pathognomonic. Clinical diagnosis is based on clinical symptoms, signs and laboratory tests, each of which are imperfect markers for GCA. Our audit demonstrated that the use of additional confirmatory diagnostic tests including temporal artery ultrasound and CTPET was being under-utilized in the SEHSCT. Use of these tests may improve the diagnostic yield in this challenging condition. As a result of this audit, a quality improvement project to provide a rapid access GCA pathway is being designed. Disclosure H. Tan: None. D. Brennan: None. C. Masih: None. A. Joyce: None. B. French: None.

Introduction: Acute lung injury (ALI) initiates an inflammatory cascade that impairs gas exchange, induces hypoxemia, and causes an increase in respiratory rate (fR). This stimulates the carotid body (CB) chemoreflex, a fundamental protective reflex that maintains oxygen homeostasis. Our previous study indicated that the chemoreflex is sensitized during the recovery from ALI. The superior cervical ganglion (SCG) is known to innervate the CB, and its electrical stimulation has been shown to significantly sensitize the chemoreflex in hypertensive and normotensive rats. We hypothesized that the SCG is involved in the chemoreflex sensitization post-ALI.Methods: We performed a bilateral SCG ganglionectomy (SCGx) or sham-SCGx (Sx) in male Sprague Dawley rats 2 weeks before inducing ALI (Week −2 i.e., W-2). ALI was induced using a single intra-tracheal instillation of bleomycin (bleo) (day 1). Resting-fR, Vt (Tidal Volume), and V̇ E (Minute Ventilation) were measured. The chemoreflex response to hypoxia (10% O2, 0% CO2) and normoxic-hypercapnia (21% O2, 5% CO2) were measured before surgery on W (−3), before bleo administration on W0 and on W4 post-bleo using whole-body plethysmography (WBP).Results: SCGx did not affect resting fR, Vt and V̇E as well as the chemoreflex responses to hypoxia and normoxic hypercapnia in either group prior to bleo. There was no significant difference in ALI-induced increase in resting fR between Sx and SCGx rats at W1 post-bleo. At W4 post-bleo, there were no significant differences in resting fR, Vt, and V̇E between Sx and SCGx rats. Consistent with our previous study, we observed a sensitized chemoreflex (delta fR) in response to hypoxia and normoxic hypercapnia in Sx rats at W4 post-bleo. However, at the same time, compared to Sx rats, the chemoreflex sensitivity was significantly less in SCGx rats in response to either hypoxia or normoxic hypercapnia.Discussion: These data suggest that SCG is involved in the chemoreflex sensitization during ALI recovery. Further understanding of the underlying mechanism will provide important information for the long-term goal of developing novel targeted therapeutic approaches to pulmonary diseases to improve clinical outcomes.

Background: Chronic primary headaches (CPHs) are known to increase the risk of stroke in women. However, the effect of a novel headache during pregnancy (G-HA) on the occurrence of subsequent stroke is unknown. In this study, we evaluated the association between G-HA and postpartum stroke in women. Methods: Based on the Korean National Health Insurance Service database, we included consecutive women hospitalized for delivery between 2007 and 2008. G-HA was defined as the novel CPH diagnosed during pregnancy, and was divided into migraine and other CPH groups. Primary outcome was determined any stroke, ischemic stroke, and hemorrhagic stroke that occurred during the identification period from delivery to December 31 2016. All diseases were identified based on data registered in the database using the International Classification of Disease-10 th Revision-Clinical Modification codes. Results: A total of 919,810 women were evaluated. In multivariable cox regression analysis, G-HA was significantly associated with postpartum stroke [adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) = 1.65, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.32-2.06]. The close association between G-HA and postpartum stroke was the strongest with migraine (aHR = 2.32, 95% CI: 1.59-3.40), but it was also statistically significant with other CPHs (aHR = 1.40, 95% CI: 1.07-1.83). According to the stroke subtype, G-HA showed a close correlation with ischemic stroke (aHR = 1.87, 95% CI: 1.45-2.41), but not with hemorrhagic stroke. Conclusions: We demonstrated that G-HA, especially migraines, was associated with postpartum stroke occurrence in women. This close association was evident in ischemic stroke and not hemorrhagic stroke.

Klotho is a life extension factor that has the ability to regulate the function of GluN2B-containing N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs), whose dysfunction in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) underlies critical aspects of the pathophysiology of major depression. Here, we study the functional relevance of klotho in the pathogenesis of depression. A chronic social defeat stress paradigm, in which mice are categorized as either susceptible or unsusceptible based on their performance in a social interaction test, was used in this study. We found that the expression of klotho was largely decreased in the NAc of susceptible mice compared to control or unsusceptible mice. Genetic knockdown of klotho in the NAc induced behavioral alterations relevant to depression in naive mice, while overexpression of klotho produced an antidepressive effect in normal mice and ameliorated the behavioral responses to stress in susceptible mice. Molecularly, knockdown of klotho in the NAc resulted in selective decreases in total and synaptic GluN2B expression that were identical to those in susceptible mice. Elevation of klotho in the NAc reversed the reductions in GluN2B expressions and altered synaptic transmission and spine density in the NAc of susceptible mice. Furthermore, blockade of GluN2B with a specific antagonist abolished the beneficial effects of klotho elevation in susceptible mice. Collectively, we demonstrated that klotho in the NAc modulates behavioral responses to stress by regulating the function of GluN2B-containing NMDARs. These results reveal a novel role for klotho in the pathogenesis of depression, providing new insights into the molecular basis of major depression.

Despite the increase in demand for deformable electrochemical capacitors as a power source for wearable electronics, significant obstacles remain in developing these capacitors, including their manufacturing complexity and insufficient deformability. With recognition of these challenges, a facile strategy is proposed to fabricate large-scale, lightweight, and mechanically robust composite electrodes composed of ruthenium nanoparticles embedded in freestanding carbon nanotube (CNT)-based nanosheets (Ru@a-CNTs). Surface-modified CNT sheets with hierarchical porous structures can behave as an ideal platform to accommodate a large number of uniformly distributed Ru nanoparticles (Ru/CNT weight ratio of 5:1) while improving compatibility with aqueous electrolytes. Accordingly, Ru@a-CNTs offer a large electrochemically active area, showing a high specific capacitance (∼253.3 F g

This study investigated the incidence and risk factors of preoperative deep venous thrombosis (DVT) after an acute hip fracture.We searched the electronic medical record system at our hospital for patients who received treatment for femoral neck (FN), intertrochanteric (IT), or subtrochanteric (ST) fractures between January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2020. DVT was diagnosed using venous compression ultrasonography. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses were performed to identify risk factors for preoperative DVT.Out of 512 consecutively admitted patients with hip fracture, 293 (median age, 77 years; 174 females) were included in the final analysis after application of the exclusion criteria. There were 162 FN, 122 IT, and 9 ST fractures. Preoperative DVT occurred in 58 patients. Patients over 80 years of age had a significantly higher incidence of preoperative DVT than those aged 65 years (P = 0.014). Preoperative DVT incidence following extracapsular fracture was significantly higher than that after intracapsular fracture (27.5% versus 13.6%, P = 0.003). Multivariate regression analysis revealed that advanced age (odds ratio [OR] 1.027, P = 0.026) and extracapsular fracture (OR = 2.149, P = 0.013) were associated with a significantly higher risk of preoperative DVT development. While the serum D-dimer level was abnormally elevated in 99% of the patients, this was not a significant factor in the final multivariate analysis (P = 0.562).The incidence of preoperative DVT after acute hip fracture in this Chinese cohort was approximately 20%. Increased age and extracapsular fracture were independent risk factors for preoperative DVT following acute hip fracture.

The electron pair of the heteroatom in heterocycles will coordinate with metal catalysts and decrease or even inhibit their catalytic activity consequently. In this work, a pincer ruthenium-catalyzed heterocycle compatible alkoxycarbonylation of alkyl iodides has been developed. Benefitting from the pincer ligand, a variety of heterocycles, such as thiophenes, morpholine, unprotected indoles, pyrrole, pyridine, pyrimidine, furan, thiazole, pyrazole, benzothiadiazole, and triazole, are compatible here.

Injectable shear-thinning biomaterials (STBs) have attracted significant attention because of their efficient and localized delivery of cells as well as various molecules ranging from growth factors to drugs. Recently, electrostatic interaction-based STBs, including gelatin/LAPONITE® nanocomposites, have been developed through a simple assembly process and show outstanding shear-thinning properties and injectability. However, the ability of different compositions of gelatin and LAPONITE® to modulate doxorubicin (DOX) delivery at different pH values to enhance the effectiveness of topical skin cancer treatment is still unclear. Here, we fabricated injectable STBs using gelatin and LAPONITE® to investigate the influence of LAPONITE®/gelatin ratio on mechanical characteristics, capacity for DOX release in response to different pH values, and cytotoxicity toward malignant melanoma. The release profile analysis of various compositions of DOX-loaded STBs under different pH conditions revealed that lower amounts of LAPONITE® (6NC25) led to higher pH-responsiveness capable of achieving a localized, controlled, and sustained release of DOX in an acidic tumor microenvironment. Moreover, we showed that 6NC25 had a lower storage modulus and required lower injection forces compared to those with higher LAPONITE® ratios. Furthermore, DOX delivery analysis in vitro and in vivo demonstrated that DOX-loaded 6NC25 could efficiently target subcutaneous malignant tumors via DOX-induced cell death and growth restriction. This journal is